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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani

Catalogue entry

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Photo: Christopher Burke Studios, NY; © FdDPS
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Keywords
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Classification: Pastel
Theme: figurative
Medium: Pastel
Support: On cardboard
Year: 1938
PS 451 (P 2007)
Concert of Angels (three figures)
Alternate title: Le Concert d'Anges
1938
Pastel on cardboard
44 1/8 x 49 5/16 in. (112 x 125 cm) (sight size)
Signed and dated lower right: Philippe Smit 1938
On the back: a handwritten label: Angel Concert/ N° 2007/ Miriam Pitcairn in the center.
Collection Elizabeth Pitcairn
Inventories
Donation Berendina Hubscher, 20-06-1952, (attestation 03-09-1953), n.p., s.n. private archives: no. [P 2007]: A Mademoiselle Miriam Pitcairn: Pastels, 3- Concert d'Anges (trois figures).
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 2007: Mrs. John Mitchell (donation by Mrs. Smit), Angel Concert (3 figures), Pastel, 49 x 44 [in.].
Exhibitions
No known exhibitions.
Literature & Primary Sources
Niehaus 1955
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 16, as Le Concert d'Anges.
Notes

Hardly recognizable, Laren, on the left, Mariam, in the center, and Eshowe Pitcairn, on the right, posed for the angel studies in this pastel. Philippe Smit, when executing his figurative compositions, did not always stay true to his models’ appearance, who were, for the most part, members of his family.1

1. See "Unpublished interview of Miriam Pitcairn-Mitchell" by Jonathan D. Kline, Bryn Athyn, 7th March 1994, 16 typewritten pages, p. 4-5, Glencairn archives.

 

Additional images
Philippe Smit next to the painting in the studio at la Motte, Thoury-Ferrottes (old photograph, private archives, Paris).
Philippe Smit next to the painting in the studio at la Motte, Thoury-Ferrottes (old photograph, private archives, Paris).
Record last updated November 11, 2024. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Concert of Angels (three figures), 1938 (PS 451)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=451 (accessed on May 13, 2025).